“She told me before the season that she was going to get it done,” Perez
said. “And I believed her.”

Santiago (30-5) also secured the No.1 overall ranking in the state, an
announcement that was made after the game by Cal-Hi Sports editor Mark
Tennis.

Perez became the first Inland softball coach to lead teams to five titles. He
is the third in section history to win at least five, joining Roger Wallace
(Pomona Catholic) and Rob Weil (Garden Grove Pacifica).

For Romero, it marks the second time she has pitched Santiago to a Division 1
crown. She was in the circle when the Sharks defeated Anaheim Canyon in
2011.

Romero is just the third pitcher in Inland history to be the winning pitcher
in two section finals. One of the other two to pull off that trick is Beth
Windham, who was in the opposing dugout Saturday evening.

“Having pitched in this game before definitely helped,” said Romero, who has
signed with San Diego State. “Norco is a very great team. When they get hits,
they usually come in bunches. We just tried to slow down the momentum and make
sure we were composed.”

Norco (27-8) got the upper hand on Romero, scoring in the first inning when
Kylie Reed singled and later came around to score on a single by Ashley
Goodwin.

That lead was short-lived, however.

Norco freshman Kerisa Viramontes again struggled with her control. She
escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, but could not do the same in the
second.

Santiago evened the score in the second inning when pinch-hitter Amanda Lynch
ripped a single to left field to plate Kaylin Crumpton. Two walks loaded the
bases, but Rachel Minogue promptly cleared them with triple inside the
right-field line to make it 4-1.

“I just wanted to hit something hard,” Minogue said. “It felt great being
able to give my team the lead.”

Norco had a chance to get back in the game in the third inning, but that
ended when Ashley Goodwin was called out for distracting Minogue on a grounder
to second. Robinson said the umpire told him Goodwin didn’t make contact, but
that Goodwin running behind Minogue was enough of a distraction to make the
call.

“We got outplayed by Santiago today, no question,” Robinson said. “But that
was a huge call. We would have had another run and runners on second and third
with two of our best hitters coming to the plate.”

Santiago had four more runs cross the plate in the fourth inning. Nichole Fry
squeezed home one run, and Marissa Varrati belted a two-run home run.

Romero allowed only one unearned the rest of the way. She picked up her 30th
win of the season, joining Norco alums Emily Lockman and Teagan Gerhart as the
only area pitchers to reached 30 in a season.

“It’s an amazing feeling to say that I helped my team win a title in my final
high school game,” Romero said. “My teammates have been there for me all season,
and they did the job again by hitting the ball well.”

Norco’s Kylie Reed had two hits in the game, giving her 210 hits in her
career, an Inland-area record.